Mexican Catholics launch campaign supporting lax abortion laws

Published: 2007-10-04

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Two groups of Mexican Catholics announced they are launching a nationwide campaign by distributing leaflets at Sunday Masses in support of the law allowing abortions in Mexico City, the capital. In an Oct. 3 news conference, the groups unveiled the leaflet which outlines the details of the new law and presents arguments in favor of it. The action by the organizations Catholics for the Right to Decide and Ecclesiastical Observation was the latest development in an episode that has divided Mexico. "At the bottom of this question is the moral authority of women to take responsible decisions about their lives with their liberty of conscience made in the image of God," the leaflet said. "Our church lacks respect for women when it doesn't recognize the moral validity of their decisions in the reproductive field." The Mexico City Assembly, which is dominated by the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party, approved the law allowing abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in April. In the rest of Mexico, abortion is only allowed if the pregnancy is the result of rape or endangers the mother's life.

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